Higher Education Partnerships

Say Yes students have the opportunity to receive scholarships to colleges and other post-secondary institutions, whether two-year, four-year or vocational – public or private.

Higher Education Compact

The 100 private colleges and universities in the Say Yes Higher Education Compact are located in more than 21 states and the District of Columbia — and provide applicants from Say Yes communities with an array of options. Our higher education partners range in size from small liberal arts colleges to major research universities, and include the nation’s most selective institutions as well as others whose admissions processes are less competitive. Local Say Yes Scholarship Directors work with counselors, and students themselves, to help identify institutions that may match their academic and other interests.

Where We Work

Say Yes to Education was founded in 1987. For its first two decades, Say Yes provided scholarships and support services to cohorts of 50 to 300 children each in chapters in Philadelphia; Cambridge, MA; Hartford, CT and Harlem in New York City. Armed with the lessons learned during that experience, Say Yes began piloting its community-wide strategy in 2008 in the upstate New York city of Syracuse. It has since established community-wide chapters in Buffalo (2012), and Guilford County (Greensboro-High Point), North Carolina (2015), and Cleveland(2019). It is currently screening cities seeking to become the site of its fourth community-wide chapter.